Super Robot Wars: Divine Wars 1 DVDReview

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Super fun for mecha fans.

By N.S. Davidson

Oh boy — fans of robot anime, line up! In this ever popular genre of mecha, Super Robot Wars: Divine Wars stands as an exciting and action-filled series, packed with robotic fighting. It might not be treading new ground in its premise of robot battles, but it sticks with the mecha theme for a reason: the wide audience appeal. And mecha has wide audience appeal, simply put, because it has the kind of stories and action many people enjoy.

The main character is an 18-year-old named Ryusei, who plans to skip college to get a job. He needs money because his mother is hospitalized and he's the one who has to care for her. He also likes robot games, and this ends up helping him in the end. When he shows he's able to do serious battle with a real weapon robot, he gets picked up by the Earth Federation Army.

Right now this army really needs good fighters, as there is a threat of war looming very close. It's not war with another country — it's a war with aliens. An artificial "meteorite" has been found crashed into earth, and inside it was information on out-of-this-world technology. This and other clues have given people hints that aliens — called "Aerogaters" — are moving closer and the world is in big trouble.

Being the start of the series, the episodes here introduce Ryusei, present some of his problems, and set him up with the Earth Federation Army. The speed of the show moves along well, getting to the point and never dragging. Another good aspect is how Ryusei is given emotions. He's not some tough boy who just likes to fight. The scenes between him and his mother reveal the compassion he has inside of him. He also uses a fighting robot to help out a schoolmate of his who got hurt. Whatever he does, it's done for good reasons. This makes Ryusei a likeable and winning hero.

There are two episodes on this DVD, just giving a taste of what's to come.